Sport News : Russia accuses Polish fans of provoking clashes

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During an afternoon and night of skirmishes police said they detained 184 people, 156 of them Poles and most of the rest Russian.

"Measures were taken to provide for the security of Russian fans. But unfortunately, provocations by some groups of Polish fans could not be avoided," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Wednesday.

Russian diplomats were trying to help a number of injured and detained Russian citizens, she added.

"We truly hope that the events of June 12 are not r epeated, that the Polish authorities take all necessary measures and that the remaining matches are a true celebration for all lovers of soccer," the statement said.

Violence broke out as thousands of Russian fans marched towards the stadium hours before the match.

The head of the Russian football union Sergei Fursenko said some Poles had seen the march as a provocation.

But the Russian fans had simply wanted to march because the game coincided with national Day of Russia celebration and were provoked themselves, he told Russian Sport Express website.

"These type of collisions happen ... There is no need to yield to provocations - everything will be OK," Fursenko told the website.

Russian fans had behaved well during the match he added.

Polish authorities apologized on Wednesday for the violence but Polish Premier Donald Tusk said the street skirmishes were limited, quickly contained, and not political.

"It wasn't a Poland-Russian battle on the streets of Warsaw," Tusk said. "Only a few hundred idiots tried to prove they are more important than the fans or the whole tournament. I would leave politics out of this."

Many Poles still resent decades of Soviet domination after World War Two and the increasingly nationalistic tone of the rhetoric from Moscow.


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